


Blood Sports VIII: Tiercel

by Kitty Fisher (kittyfisher)



Series: Blood Sports [8]
Category: Smallville
Genre: BDSM, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-24
Updated: 2012-03-24
Packaged: 2017-11-02 11:04:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/368288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittyfisher/pseuds/Kitty%20Fisher
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Their relationship deepens</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blood Sports VIII: Tiercel

Blood Sports VIII: TIERCEL  
Kitty Fisher

 

The Talon was packed with groups of kids and what appeared to be a charter busload of Mormons. Feeling weirdly out of place, Clark held the door as a trio of white haired ladies exited. Each of them smiled up at him brightly as she passed through but as soon as they were outside they started giggling, looking back and whispering before finally walking away together. 

Clark straightened his shoulders as the door closed, and quickly checked his fly. Firmly zipped. He sighed. Old ladies were a mystery. 

He peered into the crowd, wincing. The noise level was amazing. Someone had pumped up the volume on the sound system, and 'California Dreaming' was loud enough to rattle china. Lana was behind the counter, dealing with about four things at once. He caught her eye. She smiled at him, and pointed into the farthest corner. Clark let his eyes follow her direction and spotted his mom, waving enthusiastically. He struggled around the crowded tables, apologising serially as he stepped over bags and toes and a very small dog who probably should have been outside, finally arriving at a table littered with mugs, empty sweetener packets and a scattering of crumbs. 

His mom grinned at him as he bent and kissed her cheek. "Hiya, Mom." 

"Clark! I thought you weren't going to make it - that poodle looked vicious." 

Resigned, Clark sat down, and sighed at her. "All this time you spend with Cherry is bad for you. Speaking of Cherry, where is she?" 

"The bad influence is currently battling with the Talon's CD collection. I think she's going to send Lana some of her own." 

"I didn't think they knew each other that well - do they get along okay?" 

"Perfectly. Cherry's helped Lana out a few times since she took over the management of this place. Besides, who couldn't like Cherry?" 

Most of the population of Smallville seemed a good estimate from some of the looks she got when they were out and about. Not that she didn't pass brilliantly as a woman - Clark had been completely taken in after all - but in a small town, word got around. And in a small town like Smallville, Cherry was at best an oddity, at worst an object of derision. Not that she deigned to notice - and not many people said anything twice if she ever did. His dad was coming around. Slowly. Since Lex had been beaten, his dad was changing his mind about a lot of things. Maybe in comparison to his son dating another guy, his wife having a friend of ambiguous gender seemed less of a problem. Maybe. 

"No one, I guess." Lana, Cherry and his mom. Clark's brain had a surreal moment where he couldn't quite fit the pieces together, then Cherry swept up to the table and all he could do was smile. 

"Hello, sweetie!" Clark stood up just as the hug landed. He caught most of it, though there was probably overspill in Missouri. 

He disentangled himself, sure he was scarlet. "Cherry. You're looking... amazing." 

"I know. We went shopping." 

Clark looked at her properly. Then, with a start, he realized his mom was wearing more or less the same outfit. "Yeah, so I see." And clearly not in Smallville. Unless a store selling hippy stuff had opened since he last looked. Hell, maybe the Talon had a new sideline. Both Martha and Cherry looked as if they'd walked straight out of a Marrakech street market. The only difference in their clothes was that his mom was wearing flats instead of spike-heeled sandals, and her paisley-patterned shirt was loose over her jeans, not tied up to bare her belly-button. Which in Cherry's case was pierced. Clark felt dizzy as he wondered if his mom's was too. 

"Cherry knows the most amazing shops - ones right here that I never knew about." 

"You bought that stuff in town?" 

"Mmm-hm, and at bargain prices too." 

"Dad'll be happy." 

His mom giggled. "That's one way of putting it." She looked across as Cherry sat down, flicking her long blonde hair back over her shoulders. "He's lucky I didn't buy that henna kit I saw. I was very tempted." 

"Next time, honey. I'll do your hair and paint your hands like they do in India, with flowers and patterns. It looks so pretty." 

"Look." Martha waggled her fingers under Clark's nose. "Cherry did my nails. I told her they'll only last five minutes once I get going with housework and chores, but don't they look lovely?" Her nails were usually hidden, but today she flaunted them, their color a rich shade of plum, each with a tiny swirl of gold in the center. 

A hand reached over from behind Martha's shoulder and took hold of her fingers. "They're beautiful, Martha." 

Lex. Clark felt a lurch of desire. He watched as Lex kissed his mother's hand, the gesture graceful, even though it was edged with an ironic flourish. 

"Oh, you are too smooth for your own good!" Martha looked up at him indulgently, her color only slightly heightened. 

"He knows that - Martha, there's years of practice behind that cool faade." 

"Cherry, please, don't give away all my secrets." 

"Bribery is always good, Lex." Cherry admired her own fingers, a smile lifting her lips into a sweet curve. 

"Cherry, don't tell me there's another obscure European sports car that you want me to buy?" 

"No! I don't know how you could say such a thing." 

"Because I only acquired the Lotus for you, of course." 

"Did you? Cherry, that was inspired." Martha nodded enthusiastically. "I thought Lex bought it because he liked it." 

"Talk to my mechanic; he can hardly bring himself to mention it without swearing." 

"Ah, but it drives like a dream..." Martha sighed. 

"And breaks down every other day." 

"Lex, honey, thank you." Cherry blew him a kiss. 

"Yes, Lex, thank you." 

Lex looked down at them, and the smile teasing at his mouth turned into a grin. "You're both incorrigible." 

Martha and Cherry just smiled. Clark sighed. 

Lex was standing beside Martha, one hand resting on the back of her chair. As Clark watched, Lex met his gaze, and the warmth lingered in a way that made his stomach knot. Lex looked edible. Not that that was a new and startling concept. But today he was wearing his version of casual - black pants, a dove-gray sweater that hung loosely on his tall, lean frame. The neck was low enough that Clark could see the arch of bones in his neck, just where the skin dipped... 

"Clark!" 

"What?" Don't blush. 

"Lana wants to know what you'd like to drink." 

"Oh, sorry." Lana just grinned at him. He wasn't scarlet though - score one for the home team. "A latte, please." 

"Sure. Lex, can I get you anything?" 

"An espresso, Lana, thanks." Lex pulled out a chair and sat down between Clark and Martha. He looked up at Lana, his expression smooth. "I hear Cherry's been widening the Talon's musical repertoire." 

She made a face at him. "There was nothing wrong with N*Sync, I like them." 

"So do I." Cherry raised her neatly plucked brows, smiling naughtily. "But not the music, Lana, the music sucks." 

"But," Lana frowned, puzzlement narrowing her eyes. "If you don't like the music, how can you like them?" 

"Oh, because they're pretty, and they look just adorable all together." 

"I suppose they do..." She sounded doubtful. 

"Lana, boybands were invented for one reason, and that was entirely to do with libido." 

"I think the singer from Nickelback is cute." Martha stared at the faces looking at her. "Well, he is!" 

"Nooo, you can't call him cute!" Lana perched on Cherry's chair-arm, leaning forward earnestly as she shook her head at Martha. "Now you know who is..." 

The conversation span off into names Clark had never heard of. As they argued, Lex turned towards him and spoke very softly into his ear. "You really want coffee, or shall we leave them to it?" 

Clark found himself staring into the complexity of gray and blue and gold that made up Lex's eyes. Saliva flooding his mouth, he swallowed, wondering if he looked as hungry as he felt. 

"There's something I want to show you." 

Which didn't make anything any better. Though there was something Clark wanted to show Lex, too. After a week of abstinence, just being this close to Lex made him hyper-aware of skin, both his own and Lex's; and how he wanted to touch, and where. 

That he'd had dreams about the riding crop didn't exactly help. Their weekend alone had turned into two days of uninhibited delight, but he hadn't used Lex's newest toy. The moment hadn't been right. His dreams had told him again and again how he needed to make up for that. 

He wondered whether Lex felt the same way. 

Somehow he managed to sound calm. "Really? Sounds interesting." 

"I think you'll like it." 

A darting smile, a look so quickly hooded that Clark only realized it was lust about two heartbeats after it was gone. Then he felt the reaction right down to his toes. 

"Ladies..." Lex stood in a fluid move, his hands sliding into his pockets as he addressed them all. 

"Going already, Lex?" Cherry, grinning, curled one pink-tipped finger by her matching pink lips. 

Lex glanced at her, and her smile grew wider. "Don't corrupt Martha too much, Cherry. If I find you all going to see The Calling at the Metropolis Dome next month, I'll know why..." 

"Oh, I didn't know they're going to be playing." Lana sighed. 

"The blond one. Now he is pretty." Cherry licked the tip of her finger, considering the middle distance with a slightly abstracted air. 

"Martha, do you know them?" Lana asked. 

"No, though from the reaction that you two just had, perhaps I should." 

"Oh yes!" Cherry and Lana spoke in chorus. Then they both giggled. 

"Shall we all go? Lex, can you get us tickets?" Cherry was the one who spoke, though Lana was nodding. "For the three of us?" 

"Hey, kids, I'm too old to go see bands!" 

"Cinderella shall go to the ball! Don't be silly, Martha, anyone would think you were ancient. Come with us, we could borrow a nice pretty Ferrari, buzz up to the city, have fun, be home in time for milking, or whatever you farming girls do first thing in the morning." 

"Well..." She looked around. Then up at Lex. "Why not. Though only if Lex doesn't feel railroaded." 

"I think it sounds like a great idea. I'll get Neils to arrange the tickets. You could take the limo, if you'd rather?" 

"Champagne..." 

"Pretty boys..." 

"We could go shopping first." 

"Yes!" 

"Well." Lex seemed pleased with his experiment. Clark made a mental note to ask when he'd started plotting to make Lana one of Cherry's friends. Maybe about the time she'd given up on getting Clark as any sort of boyfriend. Lex, the altruist - who'd have thought? "I guess it's agreed." 

Clark stood up. "And if you're going to start talking about what to wear, we'd better go." 

"Clark, as if we would in mixed company." Cherry pouted at him. 

"I've been there, Cherry, you can't fool me." Two hours spent over what went best with jeans. His dad had ended up hiding in the barn reading 'Farming Weekly'. Twice. 

"Your mom could have been a stylist, she has perfect taste." Cherry sighed. "Which is why it's a crying shame that most times she just gets to wear flannel." 

Clark looked down at his shirt. "What's wrong with flannel?" 

"Nothing." Lex's voice. Even, certain. 

"Thanks." Clark smiled at him, felt a little giddy when Lex smiled in return. 

"For goodness sake, go away, the two of you." Cherry shook her head, tutting softly, even as she smiled. 

"Clark." He kissed his mom's cheek, felt her squeeze his arm encouragingly. "Will you be back for supper?" 

He glanced at Lex, then shook his head. "No. I'll get something at Lex's." 

Which made Cherry giggle, and then Lana too. Straightening his back, Clark decided to rise above it all, but for heaven's sake that was his mother - even if she was looking innocent and pretending she didn't know what Cherry was teasing about. And Lex was just...being Lex. Dammit, how could he be so cool? Maybe some of it would eventually rub off. Cool Clark, right at that moment, seemed like a great idea. 

"Enjoy your morning, ladies." Lex gave Clark a gentle nudge with his shoulder. "The Porsche's outside, Clark, come on." 

"Bye..." A chorus of farewells followed in their wake. Clark paused once, at the door, but the three heads, dark, redhead and blonde, were all close, talking intently, hardly aware as he waved. 

The car was right by the entrance. "Do you have this spot booked permanently?" 

"No, it's just luck." Lex opened his door, gestured Clark to get in. Neither door was locked, and the top was folded back. The car shone as bright and clean as if it had just come from the showroom - which maybe it had. 

"Is this new?" 

"The car?" 

Clark nodded. "Yeah, I don't remember a white one." 

"Mmm, she arrived a few days ago - I've been keeping her to myself." 

"Oh, I'll tell mom!" He grinned at Lex's sigh. "It's nice, I like it." 

"Turbo-charged. Cherry keeps pouting because I won't let her play yet." 

The seat was warm from the sun. Clark settled, buckling his belt into place, his fingers brushing against Lex's as he did the same. "I like the all-white look." 

"Me too. Very virginal." 

Clark snorted with laughter. "Wouldn't black be more suitable?" 

"It's a contrast, Clark. It's more of a statement that way." He glanced sideways, almost smiling. "Though there is a new black Jaguar in the garage as well." 

"Oh." Clark thought about it. Jags had nice large seats. "What are you saving that one for?" 

"A midnight drive. It's like a stealth car, Clark, soft and quiet - we could go anywhere, do anything..." 

Oh, yes. "I'll look forward to that." 

"Thought you might." 

Clark watched as Lex turned the ignition and the engine fired with a throaty roar. There was nothing stealth about this car. Clark settled back into the seat as Lex put the shift into first. "So, what're you going to show me, hmm?" 

"It's a surprise." 

"Oh. Have you been planning it long?" 

"No." Lex looked back over his shoulder as he eased the car out into the traffic. "I thought of it just now, when we were listening to the relative merits of boybands." 

"An excuse." 

"Exactly." 

"That's mean." 

"I want to get fucked today, Clark. Pleasant as it was, sitting in the Talon didn't seem a likely place to start." 

Clark heard himself swallow. "No." He swivelled sideways, as much as the belt would allow. They were turning off Main, heading towards the Luthor estate. 

"It's the whole concentration thing I find difficult - I'm working on spreadsheets and all I can think about is you." Lex shook his head. "We're clearly not getting enough sex." 

Clark shifted slightly; his thighs felt tight. "Yeah. And I've had dreams..." 

"Really?" Lex glanced at him. "What about?" 

"The whip we never got around to using." 

Lex seemed to relax slightly. "Good. I wondered what you thought. After all, you might not have liked the idea." 

"Not like it?" Clark rested his head back onto leather, watching Lex drive with his usual smooth economy of movement. No gloves today, just his big, elegant hands on the white leather of the driving wheel. His sleeves were pushed up, and there was a small, fading bruise on his wrist, just where the bone angled out. "You didn't really think that, did you?" 

"I wasn't sure. You don't use many toys, on the whole." 

He didn't, it was true. There was something about the closeness of his hands on Lex's skin. Something that maybe stopped him from hurting Lex too much - which was his own fear surfacing, not Lex's. "I trust my hands." 

"You think you'll hurt me too much if you use a whip?" 

Clark shrugged. "Lex, I get so turned on by the thought of whipping you." God, even saying the words was hot. He knew his voice sounded thicker, the words lush in his mouth. "I want to so badly, but..." 

"Trust yourself. I do." 

"I know. What if I really hurt you?" 

Out of Smallville proper, Lex shifted into fifth. The wind snapped at Clark's hair. They both had to talk more loudly. Lex shook his head. "You wouldn't." 

"I'd hate to, by accident or otherwise." 

Lex flicked a glance at him, and then concentrated on the road. "I'll always tell you, Clark. If you do something I can't cope with, you'll know. I want you to use the whip on me." He smiled, a very secret smile that was little more than a tightening of the muscles in his face. "I want to hurt, Clark. You know that." 

Clark sighed. He moved his hand onto Lex's thigh, feeling the muscle tighten as Lex changed gear. "Sometimes I worry that if I really start, I won't be able to stop." 

"You mean, that you'd just get more and more vicious?" 

"Yeah." 

Lex considered, his eyes focussed forward, concentrating; his pulse fluttered in his throat. "I don't think you would. Don't worry, just do what you want." He was suddenly grinning as he pushed the car through a few steep curves, the thought clearly a rush. "Long term - I can always say no, or draw up a contract of what I will and won't permit." He shrugged. "Short term - if anything really goes wrong, you know Toby's number." 

Carte blanche to do what he wanted. What a responsibility. Clark stroked Lex's thigh, easing his hand up to cup the hardness pushing against Lex's pants. "You're turned on." 

"And this is an academic argument for you?" 

"No." Clark shook his head, gently squeezing with his hand. "I'll hurt you, Lex." He felt the throb of response. "Beat you with that riding crop until you bleed, if you want." 

"Jesus..." 

"Today." Yes, today. When he could feel the need as part of his skin. "Though I guess you'll have to wear the gag, or Neils will think I'm murdering you." 

"I'll send the staff away." Lex sounded hoarse. His cock felt thick and hot through the thin fabric of his pants. "Fuck it, I'll buy another house in the middle of nowhere so I can scream as loud and long as I damn well like!" 

As the car turned off the main road, it scuffed slightly on the grass. "Where are we going?" 

"Just along here." 

He pulled off the blacktop completely and the car bumped along a track. Then Lex pulled up, putting on the parking brake and turning off the engine. The hood clicked softly as the engine stilled. Lex took a long, deep breath. 

"Why are we here?" Clark took his hand back and looked around. There was nothing but trees, sky and sunshine. 

"I told you. There's something I want to show you." Lex opened his door and climbed out, adjusting himself as he stood up. Clark watched with a pang as Lex smoothed his sleeves down over his wrists. "Come on." 

"But where is this?" Lex just walked away, and Clark had to jump out of the car and jog after him to keep up. "Lex?" 

"The back of the house. One of the gardeners found something hidden in the undergrowth - it's been cleaned up. I think you'll like it." 

"You and mysteries..." 

Lex smiled. 

There was a track through the trees, and Clark was about to ask more questions, but the path opened up just where the line of woodland ended. From where they stood, they could see the castle straight ahead, but right by where the path ended was a small building. Made of the same stone as the main house, it was circular, a balcony running all the way around it at ground level, a turret-like roof pointing up to the sky. It was like something from a story. Or something from the house where Lex's new mirror had once belonged - sliced straight off the top of a tower and dropped incongruously onto the ground. 

"There." Lex walked slightly ahead, his shoes barely sinking into the perfectly manicured grass. "What do you think?" 

"This was hidden?" Clark couldn't imagine losing a building, even one as small as this. Lex nodded. Clark sighed. He lost pencils. "Who put it here in the first place?" 

"Before it was covered in ivy and forgotten? No idea." Lex walked up to the balustrade, resting one hand on the stone. "Dad wouldn't have - it's far too whimsical for his tastes, so maybe my mother. Or most likely it just went with the house. You know, like a buy one, get one free offer." 

"Wal-Marts are kinda on a smaller scale." 

"So far." 

Clark grinned, watching as Lex walked along to where the ornate stone balcony divided to let in a small flight of steps. 

"Come on." Lex stepped inside, and Clark followed. 

The building was small, large enough for some chairs, a table maybe. Right now it was empty but for the two of them. Clark walked up to meet Lex, stepping straight into his arms, smiling as they closed around him. Intense, slightly narrowed eyes looked into his own. Clark pulled Lex closer. "Why does everything seem better when you hug me?" 

"Chemistry." 

"Ah, so it's a scientific thing." 

"Of course." 

"Kissing too?" 

"No, that's visceral." 

Clark nodded. Lex felt solid, lean and warm under his hands. "This is great - but why are we here?" 

"I don't know." Lex shrugged, and Clark felt the shift of bone and muscle as ripples under wool. "Maybe you're the person I show things to." 

"Lex..." 

"Better than my stamp collection." 

"You don't -" He paused. "Do you?" 

"No." Lex was smiling now. "My secret vices are comics and you. Though neither one is really a secret." 

"What about the pain thing? That's a secret, isn't it?" 

"God, yes." Lex shook his head and let out a long breath. "You, Cherry, a couple of other people - if they're still alive. That's all." 

Clark remembered the picture hanging in Cherry's apartment. Lex bound. He shivered. "Lex, what makes you want it...this way?" Lex seemed so in control. Most people did what he told them without really asking why. Yet he let Clark tie him up. He obeyed Clark - which was a scary thought all on its own. 

"You mean, why do I want to be hurt, instead of being the one doing the hurting?" 

"Yeah." 

"Apart from the fact that it means we're a perfect pair?" Lex smiled, his hands sliding around Clark's ass, pulling him closer. 

"That's..." Clark gasped as Lex squeezed. "Stop distracting me. You know that's great. But why?" 

"You want me to blame a traumatic incident in my childhood?" Eyes slightly narrowed, Lex looked so intent, his face close and smooth. Clark could only stare into Lex's eyes and wonder how he was ever able to ask anything of someone who managed to turn his brain to jelly with a touch, or a look, or sometimes with just a thought. 

"Maybe. It's difficult enough trying to understand why I like to do all this stuff to you, why I need to be dominant, let alone why you're so turned on by being submissive." 

"You've been reading again." Now that was slight amusement. Lex: sharp, intelligent and piercing in his scrutiny. 

"The internet." Clark shrugged, feeling a little ashamed. "I wanted to know more. Though I got more confused since you're not really submissive - not like they describe it, you know, with collars and crawling and yes Master stuff." 

"Which you don't like the idea of?" 

"Just can't imagine you eating from a dog's bowl..." 

"If you wanted me to, I might." Lex raised his brows. There was curiosity in his absorbed eyes. 

"But you wouldn't want to?" Lex in a collar. Lex crawling... Himself in a leather outfit and boots. Hot, impossible images that didn't quite work. Clark squirmed in embarrassment. At least, he thought it was embarrassment. 

"I've done it." 

Clark looked up sharply, thinking of Lex kneeling to someone else - someone who might have mistreated him. "But did you enjoy it?" 

"Enjoy isn't quite the right word. It was a test." He paused, then just shrugged. "I passed." 

"I don't understand how anyone could get off on that sort of, well, humiliation..." 

"It's games, Clark. And we don't play games. I'm not in a role when you fuck me. I'm me." 

"Sub." 

"Dominant, submissive, Master, slave. They're just names. We do what we want, Clark. I trust you to do anything. Completely. I like being hurt - it touches me in a way nothing else does. Hurt and controlled and..." He broke off, staring down at the ground. "No one, ever, has come close to how you make me feel. I trust you, Clark Kent. I get off on that." He paused, and his eyes lifted to meet Clark's. "I could pick up a guy in a club and get beaten and humiliated - but I wouldn't want to. For lots of reasons, not least of those being that it wouldn't be the same with anyone else. And that I know for a fact - you seriously never want to know the things I did before I met you." 

"Lex..." 

"Besides," Lex shrugged off the darkness of his words. He smiled teasingly. "Does it really matter why I want this?" 

"No." Clark shook his head. 

"I don't want to rationalize it." 

Clark slid his hands under Lex's sweater, finding skin, warm under his touch. He felt the quickening of Lex's breath, and the tension that crept into his muscles. Lex's eyes dilated, the gray eaten slowly by black. There, in that tiny speck of time between one thought and another, Clark knew what he wanted. He wasn't even sure he cared whether Lex wanted it or not. And knowing that, understanding that, about himself was scary. Scary in a way that turned him on, that made his blood rush in his veins and his cock swell. A power trip given to him by Lex. Quite suddenly he understood that this was what Lex wanted. This was how Lex wanted him to be. "Can anyone see us?" 

"No idea, though I doubt it." 

Lex was standing easily, his tension masked so well. Clark bent his head and kissed a line along his jaw, ending at his ear. He whispered, "I want you naked." 

"Now?" Ah, cracked voice. Clark smiled. He bit Lex's earlobe, gently, feeling the sharp reaction as it ran through Lex's body. 

"Yes." A lick and Clark straightened. "Strip all your clothes off, Lex - then I want you on your knees." 

"Clark..." Lex swallowed, his face tightening. "Yes." 

"Do it." 

Lex stepped back slowly. His hands clung to Clark until the last second, then they dropped to his sides. 

Three paces. Four. Then he stopped, his eyes level, calm, his expression curiously detached. With a long breath, he paused; then lifting his hands, he gripped the edge of his sweater and lifted it, shrugging it forwards so it peeled up his back and over his head and down his arms, like a skin sloughing away. Straightening, he dropped it onto the floor. 

Flat belly, narrow hips, lean ribs, and nipples that were dark, not quite smooth, puckering even as Clark watched. Arousal, anticipation, a certain degree of uncertainty, a touch of fear. His skin was pale, flushed slightly around his throat, the color tinged from white to palest rose just where the long column of his neck dipped into bone. Clark nodded as Lex unsnapped his pants, and then pulled the fly apart. He kicked off his shoes, then bent forwards, slipping off one sock, then the other, his back all elegant lines of spine and shoulder blades and skin. He stood straight then, and snagging his thumbs under his waistband, simply pushed his pants and shorts down, stepping out of the pool of dark fabric before kicking it to one side. 

And he was naked. Clark almost forgot he had ordered this. 

Lex, naked, his skin rising in goosebumps, even though it was midday and warm and the breeze was only light enough to gently stir Clark's hair. Late summer, warm, golden light, shadows like a haze on skin. Clark swallowed, his hands itching to touch. To claim. Not yet. Not yet... 

Lex stood very still. As Clark watched, his belly twitched inwards as he caught an uneven breath. A bird flew up from a tree, the sound sharp and so startling that Lex flinched, blinking fast, his lips parting as his breath grew more shallow. Yet he didn't move, just stood, his feet a few inches apart, his cock so hard it pointed upwards, precum wet and shiny, pearling from its slit. 

Clarity, like clouded water clearing. Clark expanded into the moment, into the knowing that everything he had ever done with Lex had led here. Learning as a path. Learning this. How to be this, for Lex. And for himself. 

Taking his time, Clark stayed where he was, just looking, until Lex's cock was pulsing in time with the surge of blood through his veins. Anticipation - sweet as summer. 

Finally, Clark walked to him. His boots were loud on the gritty stone floor. He went to Lex, then around him, pausing at his back. Lifting one hand, Clark touched a finger to Lex's shoulder, tracing a line very slowly down, angling across spine and skin to the opposite hip, sliding it back again, his touch delicate, but enough to make Lex shiver. 

"The whip will mark you here." Clark laid his hand flat on one shoulder, curving his fingers to match skin to skin. "All across here." A sweeping, slow gesture, his hand traveling across Lex's back. He squeezed muscle, then skimmed down to the curve of Lex's ass. "Here, too. I want to mark patterns onto your skin." He stroked gently, feeling Lex begin to sway on his feet. Even though he couldn't see Lex's face, Clark could see the tension in his back, in the way he held his head, in the way he breathed. 

Clark smiled. His own cock was hard, tight in his jeans. He kissed Lex's shoulder, smiling as Lex moaned softly. Clark licked the same patch of skin, again and again, his tongue teasing gently, softly. Then he blew on the wetness, watching as Lex's hot skin dried. 

Another kiss, his lips pressed tight to skin, holding there, sucking a bruise into the softness of flesh. He licked the mark, then backed away, unbuttoning his shirt. "Turn around." 

Slightly unsteadily, Lex obeyed. Facing Clark, he stilled. His eyes were drugged, half-closed with desire. Very slowly he blinked and, as Clark watched, focussed. 

In a slip-slide of knowing, Clark breathed in certainty. He looked into still gray eyes, seeing the need that roared like a furnace, and nodded. "Kneel down." 

Lex lowered himself, to one knee, then both. His tongue wet his lips, and he took a ragged breath. 

Clark looked up. Straight ahead of them lay the sweep of lawn, and further away, the house. There was no one. He thought he would have been strong enough to stop, had someone appeared. 

Wide sky, pale and almost cloudless. Some of the trees were already losing their leaves, the grass scattered here and there with russet. Silence apart from a few birds, and the far off road, traffic a murmur in the distance. 

"Take my cock out, Lex. I want to come." His own breath was suddenly fast, shallow. Staring ahead, squinting at the bright sky, Clark was pleased that his voice was steady. Even if he wasn't certain he'd be able to say much more without whimpering as Lex unfastened his jeans, and slowly pulled his cock into the cool air. Clark looked down. "Go on, do it" 

And Lex leaned forward. Instant heat. Clark locked his knees and stayed upright. Lex swallowed him in small mouthfuls, each one a flash of heat that shot up Clark's spine and melted his brain as Lex eased down the length of his shaft. With an unsteady hand, Clark touched Lex's head, and felt the bones shift as Lex took another half inch. He was breathing fast, shallowly, as he took the last, his mouth stretched wide, lips a thin circle around thick arousal, his throat filled with Clark's flesh. 

Breathe. Clark's vision shimmered as Lex swallowed. He could breathe. He could. Gasp of air as Lex slid his head back, his skill so intense that Clark was groaning, wanting to just come, now, this second, to shove deep into Lex's mouth and shoot his come deep into his body. Instant gratification. 

They had all day. He needed this. To take the edge off. 

Justification, maybe. Yes. He didn't care. Wanting was enough. 

Clark groaned again, took firm hold of Lex's head and pulled him close. Lex choked as he fought to take him, to swallow, to conserve air. Hands cupping skin and bone, he used the suck and wet heat of Lex's throat to jerk himself off. Face-fucking him. Long, long strokes. Watching his cock pop free, then pushing back, opening that mouth so wide, shoving inside, his cock hard, the shaft solid, stiff, the veins thick and dark as he rammed home, his groin pushed against the open, thinned lips. Holding there. Holding... then pulling back. Oh, yes again. Almost blind as Lex's wet mouth sucked him back. Home. He shoved deeper. Felt Lex's throat welcome him, grip him tight, tighter as he sawed back and forth. Muscle massaging him, milking him, teeth teasing at his skin until... 

Pleasure was a riptide that left him no thought, no self. He shook, gasping, his hips jerking spastically as his cock spat, seemingly forever, emptying into Lex, as the world shifted in a wild kaleidoscope. Until he was spent. Standing, sweat a river down his back, his hair clinging to his temples, he remembered to pull back, to loosen his grip, to let Lex breathe too. 

His hands were almost welded to Lex's scalp. He eased them away, hearing Lex groan softly as his mouth finally closed emptily. Lex swallowed, licked his red, swollen lips. Then he looked up. 

With an almost steady hand, Clark wiped his thumb gently along Lex's lower lip, back and forth, watching as Lex swayed on his knees, his eyes half shut, slitted with the intensity of his arousal. 

Straightening, Clark let his hand fall to his side. Taking a deep breath he looked up, scanning the grass and the trees. The world seemed brighter, more sharply in focus. 

"Stand up, Lex." 

A pause that lasted two heartbeats, then Lex obeyed. He groaned when Clark kissed him, licking at remnants of himself, teasing his tongue into Lex's mouth, tasting salt, heat and need. Lex's cock was pressing into his belly. Backing away, Clark smiled into gray eyes, then let his gaze fall, sighing softly as he admired the dark, swollen flesh that speared up from Lex's groin. 

There were a lot of ways to be cruel. He was learning them, one by one. 

Two small paces and he was back at Lex's side, one hand flat to the small of his back, the other curled gently around the tight heat of his balls. 

"I don't want you to come." His hand stretched Lex's scrotum, gripping his balls just hard enough for Lex to gasp, his head tilting back. His cock softened almost at once. 

Clark sighed, happiness humming in his throat. He let go gently, only to bite the smooth curve of shoulder. Lex yelped softly, under his breath. Clark kissed the red mark, tonguing at the imprint of his own teeth. One hand flat on the tightness of Lex's belly, feeling every nuance of reaction, he kissed upwards, mouthing skin, dwelling on a place just behind one ear as he slid his other hand around to join its fellow. Moving so he was looking over Lex's shoulder, he pulled Lex back into him, the press of naked skin cool against the stickiness of his own satiated cock. 

He breathed Lex in, holding him wrapped in his arms before pushing him gently forwards. 

"Go and lean on the balcony, legs spread, head in your hands." 

A slight stagger, and Lex obeyed. He went to the ornate stone balustrade, and carefully placed himself, forearms flat on the stone, his head cradled in his palms as he bent forward, his legs wide apart. 

Tucking himself away, Clark zipped up. There was a certain strangeness in being dressed while Lex was naked, a pleasant strangeness that he knew he would think about later. Later when he was alone and jerking off. 

He buttoned his shirt. 

A muscle in Lex's thigh was twitching. 

"Spread your legs wider." 

Bare feet shuffled on stone, an inch, two, further apart. Clark could see the heaviness of Lex's cock and balls hanging between his legs. He was hard again, his sac stretched and full. He appeared to be breathing shallowly, his ribs scarcely shifting around the stretched length of his back, the bones like shadows, held together by the rope of his spine. He wasn't too thin, but he was almost so. The lightness of him, the tensile strength all highlighted by the sleekness of his skin. All that lack of hair. The smooth curves that drew Clarke's eye and drove his imagination crazy. 

He closed the four paces that separated them, moving to stand behind Lex. He could hear Lex's breath quicken, then hitch into a gasp when he traced a finger along Lex's ass-crack. Teasing very lightly, though even that made Lex quiver, he slid his fingertip up and down, a little lower each time, slower each time, until he paused, rubbing slowly on the hot skin of his asshole, smiling as Lex moaned out loud. As soon as Lex reacted, he moved his hand, travelling back up, and up, his blunt nail drawing a line around each vertebra, all the way up to where the bones narrowed, grew small, and Lex's skull was a curve of bone under pale, sweating skin. He laid his hand there, curving the whole of it around Lex's head, cupping it carefully. Then he simply started the process in reverse, lifting his hand, letting his fingers trace patiently back down the long spine, all the way to where flesh parted and the dark shadowy recess of Lex's body was open for him. 

Clark's own cock was thickening again, pressing against the cotton of his shorts, while Lex was breathing hard, his whole body rigid, sweat a sheen on his back and neck. Clark crouched down between the out-stretched legs. When he curled his fingers again around Lex's balls, Lex jerked, a shuddering breath whooshing into his lungs. 

Clark warned softly, under his breath, "You can't come, Lex." Then he tightened his grip. Clark was smiling, his lips parted in desire as Lex moaned, his cock slowly softening. "Not yet." 

Lex stilled, though he was panting. 

"Better." 

Clark eased his grip. Then, the instant Lex relaxed, he leaned forward and licked a long line from his hand to the small of Lex's back, returning then, sliding his tongue in wicked swirls along hypersensitive skin. Lex was hard again, instantly, but Clark's fingers had him, and they pulled downwards, jerking slightly, not giving at all, taking the sweetness from the sensations, stealing any possibility of orgasm while simultaneously forcing him ever closer to it. 

Lex cried out, the sound short, painful, his head twisting in his hands. 

Clark licked again. His tongue found a target in the dark, wrinkled opening, and he let himself indulge, sliding the wetness of his mouth and tongue over the soft, eager skin again and again. When Lex sobbed out loud, he stopped, and sat back on his haunches. 

Amazingly, Lex was still half-hard, though his scrotum was dark red, finger-marks clear on the tight-drawn skin. 

Clark stroked his hand down Lex's thigh. Every touch made Lex flinch. 

A kiss to the rising curve of one buttock, and Clark rose. "Stand up, Lex." 

Very slowly, pushing himself on his braced arms, Lex obeyed. 

"Turn towards me." 

It was as if he was drunk, or had just stepped off a long sea journey. Unsteadily, Lex straightened, bringing his legs close together. After a moment he turned in slow stages, his bare feet awkward as a fledgling's. 

Clark looked into his dazed eyes, and the rush was dizzying. Lex was hardly there. Transformed, maybe, he looked otherworldly, his skin drawn so fine it was close to translucent. His cock was half-hard, a trail of precum ribboning down to stone as he stood, waiting. 

The tiny pulse in Lex's groin was fluttering too fast to follow. 

It would take a breath, a touch, and Clark knew Lex would come. He was so close that Clark couldn't even risk teasing him any further. Not that he needed to. He wanted the whip. And the shadowy, curtained privacy of Lex's bedroom. 

"I think we can go to the house now." Lex hissed softly, his eyes briefly fluttering closed, then opening again, this time with a certain degree of awareness. He slowly focussed, and looked at Clark - who only smiled sweetly. "You can drive. Get dressed." 

Lex swallowed harshly. He blinked, and took a long breath. "Bastard." 

"Maybe." Clark hoisted himself easily up onto the stone balcony. "But if you don't get dressed right now, I'll think of a way of punishing you." 

Lex wiped his hand over his mouth. He was still unsteady as he bent to pick up his pants. 

"Oh, and nothing but pants and sweater." 

Blink. Lex looked at him, then nodded. He separated his pants and shorts, and carefully stepped into his pants. It took him a while to force his cock inside the wool. He managed in the end, though his jaw was clenched, and he was breathing hard through his nose as he straightened to pull on his sweater. 

The pale gray had matched his eyes - now it was too pale. 

"Where are the car keys?" 

Lex processed the question slowly. Then he pushed one hand into a pocket, and brought out the keys as if not sure what they were. 

"Good. Don't crash on the way home." Grinning, Clark picked up the remains of Lex's clothes, and stepped out onto the grass. "Come on." 

Lex followed slowly. Even though it wasn't far, Clark had been leaning on the Porsche for five minutes when Lex finally reached it. Obligingly, Clark opened the driver's door. When Lex made to move past him, Clark stilled him with a hand on his arm. This time the kiss was sweet, gentle. Lex moaned and melted against him, kissing with all his body. 

Clark held him. Easing away slowly, holding him easily, gentling his back. He sighed as Lex's hands slid around him. "I won't let you come until I want you to." He felt the shiver that almost rattled Lex's bones. 

"Clark..." 

"Yeah, I know - bastard." 

"Yeah." 

"The whip, Lex. I get to use that first. Then, maybe." He squeezed Lex tight, then pushed him away. "You made me beg you. I'm just returning the favor." 

Lex's eyes closed for a second, then he nodded. "Yes." 

"You think you won't, don't you?" 

A hooded look. Lex shrugged. 

"You wait, Lex. I'm going to keep you on the edge all day. If you do come before I let you, I'll leave." 

Lex gasped. "You wouldn't..." 

"We'll see." Clark took a deep breath. The air was scented with wood and grass and engine oil. Lex. Sex as well. Though there was increasingly little difference between the latter two. "I'll make you beg, Lex. Then we'll see." 

Lazily he pushed Lex's sweater up, baring his belly, his chest. He stroked his thumbs over the aroused skin, then, holding tight with his fingers he squeezed, rolling the tough flesh, looking into Lex's eyes all the time, watching as pleasure and pain and emotion rolled like smoke across his expression, until hurt won through and he gasped, his lips parting softly, his head tilting back as he rode the waves of pain. 

It was enough. 

Slowly loosening his grip, Clark bent to kiss one raw, sore nipple, then the other. He licked each of them once, then he straightened. Carefully pulling the sweater back down, he watched as the fabric brushed against violently sensitized skin. "Good?" 

"Fuck..." The word was stretched, luxuriant. Lex let out a long, long breath, then, lifting his eyes, nodded. 

"I love you too." 

Grinning, Clark stepped away and, walking around to the passenger side of the car, climbed inside. After a moment, Lex got in too. He fumbled the clasp on his seat belt. Clark helped, then watched as he took an unsteady breath. It seemed enough, because he managed to start the car without any problems. Sitting back, Clark let himself enjoy anticipation. He was going to whip Lex. And they had the whole day to play with. 

He wondered exactly how long he could make Lex wait. 

~ 

Neils was waiting in the hall as Clark opened the door. He watched a look of resignation flicker across Lex's face as his butler took in everything from his bare feet to his dishevelled appearance without any comment at all. 

"Good morning, gentlemen." 

"Morning, Niels." Lex closed the door behind him. 

"Sir, we've had word that Miss Cherry won't be in for supper." 

"Good. Thanks." Lex dropped the car keys onto a table. Clark simply pretended that carrying Lex's shoes was something quite normal, and that he didn't have Lex's folded-up underwear tucked under his arm. He nodded supportively as Lex went on, "Niels, I don't want to be disturbed today." 

Neils inclined his head impassively. "Very good, sir." 

"If you could leave something quick and easy in the kitchen, then you and Anja can take the rest of the day off." Lex smiled. It almost appeared normal. 

"Thank you, sir. What about supper?" 

"We'll get something in. There's nothing else I should know, is there?" 

Clark wondered what on earth could be landed on Lex at short notice, but hey, if you ran a business, maybe anything was possible. Niels shook his head. He was a neat, solid man of an unimaginative appearance that belied his skill at his job and his affection for his employer. 

"Nothing at all, sir. I'll be certain to make sure your - " infinitesimal glance at Clark, " - conference is not disturbed." 

"Good. Well. Thanks, Niels." 

"Sir." And with a small bow, he left, his heels tapping certainly on the marble as he walked away. 

Clark looked at Lex. 

"All right," deep sigh, "yes, that was embarrassing." 

"You had some clothes on." 

"Not enough." 

"Are we really alone?" 

"Oh yes, he won't come back." 

"Then take your sweater off." 

"Clark..." 

He so rarely saw Lex off balance. Clark smiled, taking a step forwards so he was closer to Lex. "Come on. I want to touch you." 

Lex swallowed. Tension rippled along his jaw, the shift from capable to vulnerable so sudden it made Clark's belly knot. "But..." 

"You said no one would disturb us." 

"I know..." 

"Do it." Strangely, it was hot as hell watching Lex struggle. 

A span of one breath, and Lex groaned softly in frustration. Then, gripping its hem, he pulled the sweater off. He was slightly flushed when he emerged. "Like this?" Challenge darkened his eyes. 

Smiling, Clark nodded. "Yeah. Toss it over to me." 

Lex obeyed, and Clark caught the garment, adding it to the bundle under his arm. "Come here." 

Very slowly, Lex walked across the floor, until he was right in front of Clark. His pants were riding low on his hips, and his belly was fluttering with the shallowness of his breath. 

"Your nipples look sore." 

"They are." 

"You think I should kiss them better?" Clark asked softly. 

Dark red nubs lifted up from the skin of Lex's chest. Bending quickly, Clark kissed one. He sucked it into his mouth, tonguing flesh hard, rasping his tongue over it again and again until Lex just seemed to melt into him, one hand on Clark's shoulder. "Clark..." 

So sensitive. Clark sucked again, opening his mouth wide and taking as much skin inside as he could. Lex's head dropped back as he sighed. Lick, kiss, suck. Attention to detail. Perfection in small things. 

When he straightened, Lex's hand was white-knuckled on his shoulder. Clark lifted his head and let himself smile. "Nice." 

"Oh, yes..." 

Part of Clark wanted to fuck Lex right here. To make him kneel on the cold marble and then fuck him until he was brainless. There were black specks floating in front of his eyes as the blood in his body pooled in his groin. "Lex, I could fuck you here." 

He watched the reaction. Lex taking the information, dealing with it. "You could." 

"One day." 

"There're twenty-six rooms in this house..." 

"Counting the bathrooms?" 

"No." 

"If I fuck you in all of them, do I get a prize?" 

Lex licked his lips, a smile lifting the corners as he stared at Clark. "Maybe just to start again." 

"Sounds good enough." He stepped closer, his free arm sliding around Lex's waist. "Right now I want you in the bedroom. And I want that whip." 

"Yes..." A whisper of sound, raw as the look in Lex's eyes. "Yes." 

Clark kissed him softly, his lips brushing across Lex's. Pulling him closer, Clark licked at warm, dry skin, sliding his tongue into Lex's mouth. Gentle, easy, as if arousal wasn't making Lex shiver in the curve of his arm. As if there was nothing dark and barbaric waiting at the top of the stairs. Sweet, gentle kisses. Like friendship, or romance. When he was going to make Lex scream. 

And that thought made him groan. He widened the kiss, deepening it with his tongue, his mouth tight and hard to Lex's answering strength. Breathe. Air in his lungs when he remembered and he broke the contact, stepping away with Lex's mouth still parted, his eyes still half-closed as if in a dream. 

"Are you ready?" 

Lex closed his eyes, then opened them, meeting Clark's level gaze. Then he nodded. 

"I'll fuck you afterwards. Take care of this." He touched his fingers to the tenting shape of cock in Lex's pants. Then he unfastened the snap at the waist of Lex's pants, and eased the zipper down. "Now step out of them." 

A wriggle of Lex's hips and the fabric began to slide downwards. It snagged on his cock, but Clark helped it along, his fingers pulling Lex's cock free. Lex stepped out of the last of his clothing, and waited, tall, slim, his skin pale and unmarked by anything more than a few remaining bruises from their last weekend, and by the red marks that matched Clark's fingers for size and shape. 

Clark bent and picked up the pants. Then he walked ahead, leading the way up the elegant staircase, to Lex's room. He walked in a kind of daze. He could do everything he wanted. Anything he wanted. Saliva flooded his mouth as his cock pulsed. On the landing, he turned. Lex was a few paces behind him. Waiting until their heads were level, Clark kissed him again, the gesture nothing more than a peck on the cheek, his lips touching skin for only the briefest of moments. His throat was dry, and when he spoke his voice sounded odd to his own ears. 

"Don't forget, if it's too much, tell me." 

A nod. Maybe Lex was incapable of speech. 

Clark smiled a little in agreement, then they both went back to walking up the stairs. 

~ 

Clark closed the door behind him, and the sound of the lock turning was enough to make his breath quicken. 

He faced the familiar room, leaning for a moment on the bleached wood of the door. He knew this place so well, memories lurking in almost every corner. Was he happier here than anywhere else? Maybe. If Lex was here too. Which he was, patient, calm, standing in the center of the room, his weight balanced evenly on both feet, his shoulders squared, his hands loosely open at his sides. 

Clark glanced at the wide bed. Today the sheets were dark red, the comforter already pulled down; the leather cuffs chained to the bed's four uprights were all ready. And on the slim pillows that Lex preferred lay the whip. 

Just seeing it all gave him a jolt - knowing that Lex must have prepared the bed, laid the whip there just before he left the house that morning. Clark wondered if Lex had jerked off thinking about it, as he had, or had wet dreams tormented by the crack of leather on skin. The way he had, night after night. 

Maybe. Probably. From the awareness and anticipation that shimmered out of Lex like an aura, certainly yes. 

"You planned this?" 

"I hoped." 

"Wanted?" 

Lex laughed once, the sound a tight explosion of air. "You don't need to ask that." 

Clark went to the bed and picked up the riding crop. It was very light, scarcely weighting his hand. The grip fitted his palm perfectly, as if made for him, which it might have been. Cautiously, he flexed it, swished the three feet of leather back and forth in the air. It was very springy. Experimentally, he hit downwards, the sound a dull thunk that left a deep arrowing dent in the pillow. It wasn't going to be kind to skin. Clark sucked in a long breath. When he could think, he turned to Lex, found him, intent, watching with total concentration, raw with wanting, with a need that was impossible to describe. 

Except that it matched his own so perfectly, they could have been two halves that made a whole. 

There was a pressure in Clark's chest, more in his belly that knifed down into his groin and made him burn with wanting. Wanting Lex. Wanting to hurt him. To make him happy. To... 

He pushed the pillows onto the floor. 

"Get on the bed." 

Five long paces, Lex's cock like the pointer on a compass, guiding him forward. He climbed onto the mattress and knelt for a moment. Slowly, he laid himself across the sheet, skin sliding on smooth cotton with a soft noise. His limbs outstretched, he reached towards the cuffs, his breathing fast and shallow as he pressed his cheek to the bed and waited. 

Pretty. Clark filled his lungs with air, then let it out slowly through his nose. He touched the tiny loop of leather that dangled from the end of the whip to the small of Lex's back. Tickling the skin, he let it travel in small circles, then down in a path that dipped between the lush curves of Lex's ass. Lex gasped then, the muscles in his back tightening, flexing under thinly fleshed skin. 

Abruptly, Clark stopped. He stepped away from the bed, putting the whip down on the nightstand. Then he stripped his clothing off, piling it all on one of Lex's big, soft chairs. His cock was so hard that he wondered if he'd imagined coming just a short while ago. But Lex was naked and willing and the whip had been in his hand, so of course he was hard, oozing precum. As if this was the first time. Again. 

Which made him smile, though his face was too stiff, too set in lines of desire. He looked at himself in the mirror, saw Lex on the bed behind him in the reflection. He focussed back, watched himself shiver. Just once. Here, in this space, he actually felt as different as he looked. Here, he liked his body, and he liked his needs as well. Reflective contentment, channeled through Lex. 

Then he turned back to the bed, and began to fasten the cuffs. 

Wrist, ankle, ankle, wrist, working his way around the bed, the mattress hardly dipping under his weight as he shifted from corner to corner. The leather buckled very tightly to Lex's skin - less abrasion for when Lex struggled, which he would, in time. The skin on his arms was like buttermilk, soft when Clark bent and mouthed it, sucking at the freckles, his teeth grazing across the concave bend of his elbow, leaving a nip that made Lex jerk, the chains rattling tautly. His body was stretched tight. Clark liked him secured. Vulnerability as something obvious, not just a glint in the depths of gray eyes, or the cant of Lex's head when he thought no one was looking. 

Clark walked back to the nightstand. The whip was there, and the leather slipped back eagerly into his hand. 

Turning on his heel, he hit the bed, once. Lex shuddered, pressing his face into the sheets. 

There was a line of damp sweat just in the curve between his shoulder blades. Kneeling on the bed, Clark slipped the whip into his left hand and bent to lick it off, the taste salt in his mouth as Lex's skin twitched under his tongue. He kissed the dome of Lex's scalp, then his ass, pressing his mouth to the dense muscle there, licking gently as Lex tensed, his hips lifting as Clark wove a pattern onto his skin with his tongue. Sliding one hand between Lex's legs, Clark took firm hold of his genitals, and carefully repositioned them, laying them so Lex's cock pointed down between his legs. Kneeling back, Clark admired the way the angle pressed Lex's swollen cock hard into his balls, spreading them tight and wide between his thighs and the bed. 

Bending, Clark kissed the wet, shiny cock-head - and wondered if he'd made Lex come, just from that one, delicate touch. But from somewhere, Lex found control. He was breathing hard, his shoulders knotted with tension, but he didn't come. 

Clark smiled, and breathed a sigh onto burningly hot skin. Lex whimpered. 

Then cried out as Clark's hand slapped down hard onto the fullness of his ass. Eight blows in quick succession. One buttock, then the other, until Lex's skin was red, printed with the marks of Clark's fingers, welts rising quickly as his fine skin reacted in a blaze of color and livid lines. 

Just from being slapped. 

Dry-mouthed, Clark took the whip into his right hand, his left one automatically going to cup his own cock, feeling the solid weight as a shaft of nothing but need. For this. 

Pain as the sweetest comfort. He let go, and knelt up. 

"Five strokes, Lex." 

A nod, more or less. Clark watched Lex try and gather himself, to be ready, to anticipate. 

But the first one sounded like a gunshot, hard and sharp, the retort echoing in his head and rippling down his spine as he watched Lex jerk in pain and surprise and a total lack of any control. After a moment, the pale line on his ass darkened. And Clark hit him again, the second stroke lain just under the first. 

Clark groaned. Lex cried out, his whole body trying to shift away from the pain, his wrists locked into the tight bonds, jerking as he fought for breath. He wasn't allowed any. Three more hits, one after the other, each laid carefully to mark parallel lines onto his skin. He was sobbing for air when Clark sat back. 

Perfect. Five whip marks, each a different shade of red, painted across his ass. Each raw line was only broken by the cleft in Lex's ass. 

Clark ran his hand over them, loving the way Lex's body shivered, shifted in reaction as he skimmed across the marks. 

"Beautiful..." He said the word under his breath, and meant it. 

"Clark..." Broken syllable. Muffled word that was somehow affirmation. 

"Yes. We're not done yet." Sighing sound that might have been thank you. Clark lifted the whip, feeling the snap of it as he brought it down, angling across the first five. 

Lex arched backwards as if tazered. 

Very slowly, beads of blood lifted from Lex's skin, just where the lines crossed. 

Again, harder this time. And Lex screamed, the sound falling away as he choked on impossibly difficult breaths. 

Dropping back onto the floor, Clark fetched the gag from the chest of accessories. Kneeling by Lex's head, he stroked the sweating skin of his scalp. "You'll have to wear this." 

Long, long moment while Lex gathered himself. Then he lifted his head, his eyes blinking open, narrowed against pain and light as he focussed on what was held by his face. 

"Open your mouth, Lex." 

The ball gag was brutal. Rubber threaded with leather, it strapped behind Lex's head, forcing his mouth too wide for comfort. He couldn't scream with it on - not loud enough to bring anyone running. Clark fastened it, then brought Lex's face around, looking at him, seeing the way he struggled to deal with the thing stretching his jaw. Clark smiled, and bending down, kissed him, licking around the gag, kissing the hollows in his cheeks, the swollen redness of his lower lip where he must have chewed it again and again as Clark was beating him. 

He backed away, his face inches from Lex's. "Five more." He watched the reaction, the shift as fear and apprehension swept slowly into awareness and desire. "Five - then we'll see." 

Another kiss, and he released his hold. Lex swallowed awkwardly around the gag, then carefully rested his head back on the bed, his cheek pressed into the sheet. His eyes closed. 

Clark knelt again, next to Lex's hips. He leaned over, feeling heat radiating off the swath of scarlet skin. The drops of blood were very bright. He licked one. Even the touch of his tongue made Lex flinch. Clark groaned, his cock achingly hard, the sweet, salty blood taste in his mouth like desire made solid. 

He shivered. Kissed Lex again, just where his spine dipped. Clark's lips stretched in a smile as he straightened, and sat back on his heels. 

The next hit angled lower down, across the tops of Lex's thighs. The skin was thinner there, the muscle bulk less dense. Lex screamed again; this time, the sound was shredded by the gag. Again, and Lex shuddered. His breathing losing its pattern, he gasped as he lay twisting on the bed, the sheet rucking up under his body, the red patchily darkening to black with his sweat. 

Clark whipped him again, the crop hitting across his thighs, hard enough to break the skin. Lex's hands clawed at the bed, the cuffs tight around his wrists as he pulled, his muscles strained and taut, pain visible in shockwaves that travelled fast and hard through his body. 

Two more blows from the whip, fast, close together, twin lines on the back of his spread thighs, the suddenness too much, and Lex didn't even scream, his lungs too short of air, his body shuddering in tiny, impossibly painful jerks. Two more whip marks, though only one of them brought blood welling to the surface. 

Breathless, Clark wiped sweat from his own eyes. His vision was speckled, dancing with bright lights, his hearing a roar of noise that clamored in his head. 

He licked Lex's thighs before he'd even thought it, tasting the ridges that marred the smooth body, sucking at the blood, at the weals that were open, where he had ripped past the skin to the very stuff that Lex was. Essence of Lex, hot in his mouth. 

Clark moaned, his face sliding between the spread thighs, sucking at the softened length of Lex's cock, sucking it into his mouth, coaxing it into awareness, into complicity. He spread one hand on the network of welts and pressed. Lex's cock-head pulsed in his mouth, then jerked, growing. Laughing, Clark suckled harder, using all the skill he'd been taught and suddenly Lex's cock was thick and hard, pressing tight to the bed, the angled arousal awkward, painful looking. Clark kissed it, rewarding it. He was going to fuck Lex, make him come, like this, while he was bleeding. The thought made him gasp, his own cock dripping precum onto the bedclothes as he knelt back. 

He'd fuck Lex. Soon. 

The whip was still in his hand. He sniffed the sweetness of leather, licked the salty dampness compounded of blood and sweat. 

There was an insanity to this. He knew it. But he didn't care. Instead he flicked the whip onto Lex's shoulders, using only the last eight inches, whipping him fast, not breaking the skin, the blows stinging, vicious as they left Lex no room to breathe, no space to do anything but feel. Both shoulders, the thick muscles knotted across his back. The skin turned red, the marks perfect as they formed in heat and pain on flinching skin. 

Clark stopped. 

He petted Lex's head. The only sounds were Lex's wet, awkward breathing, and his own. There was sweat in his own eyes again, and Clark wiped it away on his forearm. He took a deep, centering breath. What felt like hours ago, he'd drawn a line across Lex's back, from one shoulder to the opposite hip. The whip was long enough. 

He drew the line first, as a promise. Watched the realization snap Lex's eyes open. Watched it bunch Lex's hands into white-knuckled fists. 

The hardest stroke. 

Snap. 

And Lex screamed, loud even behind the gag, his head thrown back, his body shuddering again and again as the whiplash burned into him. He was bleeding at once. Red blossomed in a perfect line across his back. 

Clark gasped, open-mouthed as he saw Lex's pain. As Lex somehow took it, dealt with it, transformed it into something else. 

He was still hard, his cock-head slick and shiny, the sheet under it darkened with precum. 

Shifting slowly, Clark knelt between spread thighs. He put the whip down. With one arm either side of Lex's shoulders, he gradually eased himself down, pressing his body to the burning heat of Lex's skin. 

Lex arched, whimpering as he took Clark's weight. Clark shushed him, easing him with wordless sounds. Lex's thighs and ass were like living fire against his skin. Lifting his hips, Clark rubbed his cock across welted skin. He groaned as Lex's body spasmed, moving like an animal in a trap. 

Gently, kindly, he turned Lex's head. The gag was soaked with saliva; trickles of it drooled from the corner of his mouth. Clark stroked the hot, sweat-damp skin of Lex's cheek, wiping tears away with the tips of his fingers. And then he pushed down with his hips, watching as Lex's face tightened into a mask of pain. Lex, ripped apart. Lex as nothing but visceral reaction. Clark moaned under his breath, licking the sweat from his upper lip, greedy, gluttonous. 

Clark stroked again, watching as the hooded eyes flickered open. Eyes narrowed by agony, Lex stared at him for a long time before he focussed, before something in his gaze clicked into awareness. 

Clark smiled at him. "Don't go away from me; stay here. Feel it all." 

Lex swallowed. After a moment he nodded. 

"I'm going to fuck you." 

A sound, from deep in Lex's throat. Bliss, perhaps. 

"I want you to kneel - with your face pressed into the bed. Just like you fucked me in front of the mirror, remember?" 

There was nothing like recollection in Lex's eyes. He blinked, slowly, then shivered hard enough to make himself groan. 

"You won't need this, either." Clark touched the damp leather strapped around Lex's head. The buckles were stiff when he tried to undo them. Clark unfastened them slowly, letting the straps fall forwards. Carefully, he eased the rubber ball out from between Lex's teeth. 

As soon as it was free, Lex let his head drop back to the bed. He worked his jaw, swallowing. Then he sighed, the sound little more than a thread. 

Clark kissed the back of his neck. Then he eased himself upright. His skin was spotted with Lex's blood. 

The cuffs unsnapped quickly. Without any ritual Clark worked his way around, freeing Lex's wrists and ankles. Lex hardly moved at all, simply groaned and eased his arms a little closer to his body. Both his wrists were circled with what would be bruising. Clark kissed them, lingeringly. He was still starred on the bed, spread wide. Clark went back to kneeling between his thighs, then he laid himself back down onto Lex's skin. 

"I'm going to fuck you now. Oh, and I changed my mind - you don't have to beg. You don't even get to say no. I'm going to do this anyway, no matter what you want." 

Lex's head jerked, maybe in agreement, maybe because Clark had pushed down with his hips, grinding skin to skin as if trying to weld them together. 

"Clark..." His name whispered from swollen lips. 

Nodding, Clark levered himself upright. "Kneel up, Lex." 

The whip marks were perfect. Here and there blood trickled down Lex's lean flanks. As Lex pulled himself slowly up to his knees, he hissed with pain, his head dropping between his shoulders as he panted for air, the marks a shifting pattern as he breathed. 

His eyes fixed on Lex, Clark rubbed precum over his glans and down his shaft. He spat into his hand and added that, slicking his cock. Clark spat again; this time his fingers slicked the entrance to Lex's body. He smiled as Lex had to lock his shoulder muscles in order to keep still, his arms trembling as his weight shifted forwards. 

"No condom, Lex. Just skin on skin." 

"God..." Broken word, sifted by a mouth that had clearly forgotten how to work. 

"First time all over again." There was no need for protection. And he had a craving to feel as much of Lex as possible. Sweat dripped into his eyes. He blinked, shaking damp hair back off his face. He was breathing as if he'd been running forever. 

"Clark, please..." 

He stroked Lex's ass, making him quiver as he drew closer. He knelt in close to the hot, broken skin, lining his cock up just so, pressing it to slippery tightness. Very slowly, he eased inside. Lex's head rocked forward, his spine bowing as he moaned with the stretch. Clark pushed a little deeper, watching the way Lex arched, his spine stark under raw skin. Watching his own flesh disappearing into Lex's body. Sliding inside, slow, slow... The strength was a gift. From somewhere Clark found control. He opened Lex's body as slowly as a miser counting his gold. One delicious breath at a time. Rocking back and forth in tiny movements, deeper each time. 

Close, so close, Clark paused. He lifted his hand from Lex's hip and ran one finger down the long, angled whip mark. He groaned as Lex cried out, and Lex's sphincter tightened harshly on his shaft. Again, and Clark bit down hard on his lip. He could come like this, just from Lex's reaction to pain. Again, and he cried out softly as Lex slammed back towards him, his ass eating the last inch of Clark's cock. Almost incapable of coordination, Clark smoothed his hands down Lex's heaving sides. Holding his waist, he pulled back, watching his cock slide free, not quite all the way, before he pushed forward. The slide, the stretch, all easier this time, the rush of pleasure deeper, with his balls painfully tight, his skin itching with frustrated need. 

A trickle of blood ran down Lex's shoulder. Clark bent forward and licked it. Moaning, he pressed his mouth to the source, and began to pump his hips. Deep inside, Lex was smooth, and hot like burning embers. Clark's cock pushed in, butting into flesh, sliding through it. Lex gasped, his fingers claws as he clutched the sheets, his face hidden, tucked between his tense shoulders. 

Clark swallowed. He wanted Lex's eyes. Cursing softly as his cock slipped from Lex's ass, he turned Lex over. When his back hit the sweat-soaked sheets he screamed, but Clark was kissing him, taking the sound, taking everything as he lifted Lex's thighs and shoved himself back inside. Grunting, he shifted, curling Lex back, his legs high, bent back between their bodies. 

Lex was gasping. Clark kissed him, open-mouthed, wet kisses that slid from his panting mouth down his neck. He jerked his hips forward, beginning to push in deep, hard movements that barely parted them. Just deep and deeper, watching as Lex's eyes fluttered open, sucking his skin, biting, consuming Lex alive as he fucked, as he slid his hand between them and gripped Lex's cock. He didn't need to do anything. One touch, and Lex arched, his eyes wide, mouth stretched in a huge circle as he shuddered, close to convulsing as he finally tipped over the edge into orgasm, his body juddering, racked with pain as pleasure, with pleasure as pain. His hands ripped at Clark's shoulders and, at the last moment, as his come spilled hotly over Clark's hand, he cried out Clark's name. 

And tripped Clark over the edge. No warning. Just orgasm. Like lightning from a blue sky. Electrified, Clark jerked, shuddering as he howled, his face lifted upwards as he slammed into overwhelming pleasure. His mind obliterated, his thoughts scattered to the four corners of the world, he fell forward. 

A deep groan brought him back. It took a second, then he found the memory of how to disentangle them. Easing his hips back, very slowly, wincing as Lex flinched under him, Clark withdrew his softening cock. 

Another moment, and he moved, shifting his weight off Lex, moving to lie at his side, to draw him into the curve of his arm. 

He stared up at the ceiling. He felt burned out. Blissed out. 

He kissed Lex's head, softly, and murmured, "Lex..." It was almost a question. 

"Mmm?" Even that took a long while to form, to sound from Lex's mouth. 

"You okay?" 

"Fuck." Maybe it was laughter. Maybe... 

Clark shifted until he was looking at Lex. Yes, laughter. Or as close as he was capable of right now. Clark smiled at him. "Wow." 

"Yeah." 

The yawn nearly cracked his jaw. "Amazing." 

"Shut up, go to sleep." 

"Your back..." 

"Will keep." 

"But..." 

"Clark, just shut up." 

Clark behaved. He knew when he was mastered. He was grinning widely for all of the five seconds it took him to fall deeply asleep. 

~ 

He awoke with Lex dreaming in his arms. From the sounds bleeding from his mouth, the dreams were nothing pleasant. Clark moved, and Lex opened his eyes at once. He took a long breath, then relaxed. 

Though as soon as he moved, he tensed. 

"Ouch?" Clark inquired. 

"Shit, yes." Sibilant agreement, and Lex straightened one of his legs with a groan. "Tell me again, I did enjoy this?" 

"It looked like it." He knew he should have insisted on checking Lex's back before they slept. 

"Stop feeling guilty, right now." 

"Psychic." Clark muttered under his breath. He sat up. Dried semen dusted off his belly. 

"As if I need to be." Lex took a deep breath, then slowly began to roll onto his side. 

"Wait!" Clark leaned over him. The sheet was dried to his skin with blood. Clark tugged at it and immediately the cotton dropped away. He was filthy. Clark glanced at himself and realized he wasn't exactly fragrant himself. "We need a shower." 

Lex groaned. "Leave me, I'm dead." 

"No way." And the bed needed changing. And he needed to look at Lex's back when it wasn't covered in dried blood. 

"Please?" 

Clark slid off the bed, and without asking leaned over and picked Lex up. His skin was very hot. Holding him close, Clark ignored the protests and carried him into the bathroom and straight into the shower. 

Back on his feet, Lex tried to glare, but Clark turned the water on, and the glare became a gasp, which in turn became a sigh. Lifting his face to the water, Lex closed his eyes. 

Standing close, his hands brushing Lex's arms, Clark kissed him. Once, just by his wet lips. 

"What...?" 

"Nothing. Just thank you." 

Rolling his neck, Lex turned and let the water stream down his back. It took a long while before he did anything but stand very still and breathe very carefully. 

"Lex?" 

"I'm fine. It stings." 

Stings. Huh. Clark, one arm curled around Lex's chest, stared at his back. The whole shoulder area was bruising, as was his ass. The whip marks were livid lines on his skin, the worst being the one curling from his shoulder to his hip. Not that it was very deep, but the skin was broken, mostly where the mark crossed the thick muscle around one shoulder blade. 

Clark sighed, and gently kissed his shoulder. "You're not going to be sitting down easily for a while." 

"Yeah, I gathered." 

"You know, you're beautiful." 

He felt Lex shiver. "It feels beautiful." 

Clark met Lex's eyes. Looking deep into them, he nodded. This time they kissed mouth to mouth. Sweet, slow. Perfect. Lex moaned into Clark, his body sliding closer. It took a moment for Clark to realize Lex was hard again, his cock pressing into Clark's thigh. 

"Lex..." 

"You make me feel. Really feel." He shrugged, as if in apology. There were still stains on his cheek where tears had run from his eyes. 

He'd called Lex beautiful as well. There was a doubt that anyone else had ever bothered. But he was. Clark slid to his knees. The shower was spilling water all around him. A glance upwards, seeing Lex shaking his head, about to say something, and Clark opened his mouth and sucked Lex's cock. Whatever words had been on Lex's tongue disappeared. He groaned instead, the sound long and lush as Clark sucked him luxuriously. Clark moaned as the thick cock-head slipped in deep. He rocked it back and forth there, loving the way it filled him, stretching his mouth and his throat. Back out, his tongue working in lazy swoops and swirls, under Lex's balls, teasing there before he sucked Lex's balls, both at once into his mouth. Sucking gently, licking all around them, slurping them, wet sounds to rival the sound of shower-water hitting their skin, spattering on the floor. Back up to the loveliness of Lex's cock. Sucking it back, groaning as it swelled, pulsed thickly and suddenly the sour taste of semen flooded his mouth. Lex was panting. He put his hand on Clark's head, his balance shot. But his cock wasn't softening. His body was still taut, quivering. 

This was only about Lex's pleasure. Clark took him deep, again and again, until the muscles in his throat coaxed the need from him a second time. His hands pulled Lex to him as he swallowed, and Lex cried out, coming again in tiny ripples of pleasure that seemed almost painful. Finally, Clark let the cock fall gently from his lips. He kissed it once, then the skin just above its root, pressing his face to the sticky warmth. He was smiling as he stood up. 

Lex pulled Clark close, shivering with exhaustion. The soap was in a holder fastened to the wall, Clark took a bar, and lathered his hands. Lavender scent filled the steamy room as Clark soaped Lex's body. Arms and legs, his groin, his ass. Bending to reach both feet, knees, rising again to wash his scalp - behind his ears too. Chest and belly were easiest, and his back was hardest. A couple of times he made Lex flinch with more than just discomfort, but afterwards, when it was done, Lex sighed and leaned against the wall, his face calm. 

Clark washed and dried himself at superspeed. He was back with a towel almost before Lex knew he had gone. 

"I wish you'd warn me." 

"I thought you liked surprises?" 

"Hah." Suddenly, Lex looked exhausted. He leaned against Clark, his head on his shoulder, and stood patiently while he was dried. Clark wrapped him in a clean towel and carried him back into the bedroom. The bed was changed. Clark tried not to look smug. 

"Show off." 

"Useful, you've got to give me that!" 

"Oh, yes - and in so many ways." Lex edged onto the bed, his face taut with concentration as he lay on his side, then turned onto his stomach. 

There was a small first-aid box in the nightstand. Clark found the antiseptic spray. Sitting on the bed next to Lex, he worked over the entire expanse of marks. He didn't think anything would scar. Nothing was still bleeding. All it looked was raw, angry. Clark finished by kissing his back, just where it dipped, where the skin was still pale. 

"There, done." 

"Thank you, doctor. Now come here." 

Clark put the spray back in the box, then shunted himself across the bed until he was flat, lying next to Lex, face to face, the bed-clothes drawn lightly over them both. 

Lex smiled tiredly at him. "A siesta." 

"Yes." 

"Then some wine. Lunch too." He frowned. "Or is it suppertime?" 

"It's still light." 

"Oh, yes." 

"Do you need anything, like Tylenol maybe?" 

"Later." He smiled slowly. "I'll be sore for days." 

"That's a good thing?" 

Lex closed his eyes. "Yes, of course." 

Clark shifted until Lex's head was resting in the curve of his shoulder, and Lex sighed, relaxing into him, one arm curling over his belly. "I like that. You'll think of me all the time." 

A soft laugh, words spoken from the brink of sleep. "I do that anyway." 

Clark grinned. He wasn't tired. Not really. But he felt the moment when Lex's breathing changed. For a long time, Clark simply watched. Then he closed his eyes. He could still feel Lex, smell him, taste him, too. There wasn't much else he could ask for.


End file.
